Fall Bucket List

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I have been so productive the past week and a half....I'm really moving on finishing up school stuff. My goal is to be OFFICIALLY done by the end of September. I can barely remember what it feels like to not have this stuff hanging over my head, so I am SO looking forward to just being done and being able to relax!

Anyways, admittedly I'm not the best at keeping this ol' blog updated...but bare with me for the next few weeks as my number one focus (besides H, of course) is finishing up school!

Moving on....I did take a break from school stuff last night to come up with our 2013 Fall Bucket List. Fall is by far my favorite holiday, and I am so excited to do all these fun activities with Hannah this year. She is at such a perfect age right now and I think she will LOVE everything on this list.

o   Go to the pumpkin patch and pick out pumpkins

o   Go on a hayride

o   Play in a pile of leaves

o   Navigate a corn maze

o   Go apple picking

o   Bake an apple pie

o   Take a picnic

o   Make caramel apples

o   Make fall cookies

o   Decorate pumpkins

o   Make hot apple cider

o   Go trick-or-treating

o   Make leaf art

o   Make chili

o   Watch Thanksgiving Day parade

o   Visit a state fair

o   Roast pumpkin seeds

o   Celebrate the Thanksgiving season by giving back

o   Make applesauce

o   Go to a football game

o   Make pumpkin bread

 I'm so excited to get started on this list! If you think of anything that I am missing, please let me know! I want to make the most of this season with my little girl.

Bump Update Weeks 4-15

As I am already in week 15 (or 16...more on that later)...I thought I would do a general "bump" update for the past 4 months....so forgive me in advance for the length of this post...but this is more for me to jot down everything I remember about the last 4 months!

Weeks 4-15

How far along? 15 or 16 weeks. My original due date was February 4th, which would put me at 15 weeks and 3 days....however when we went in for our NT scan we found out that we were too far along to measure everything needed for the NT scan. The doctor and ultrasound tech told me the baby was measuring to be about 1 week further along and gave me a new due date of January 30th..which would put me at 16 weeks and 2 days. I haven't been able to see my regular OB yet, but he will be the final say on whether we change my original due date. For now, I give a general answer when asked....when it comes down to it the due date doesn't really matter anyways...but it is always nice to hear that I might be further along than I originally thought! 
Size and growth of Baby? Going with the 16 week due date here, since that is what baby is accurately measuring at....baby is the size of an avocado at 4.6 inches and 3.5 ounces. This week the little limbs are much more developed and are becoming more controlled in movement. 
Maternity Clothes? Oh yes. I've been in maternity clothes since about 9 weeks. I "popped" pretty early with this one. With Hannah I felt like I didn't really look pregnant until I was almost halfway through my pregnancy. But this time around I felt like I had a hard time concealing my pregnancy in those early stages! I can still make non-maternity clothes work (dresses, tunics, shirts, etc) but jeans and shorts are full on maternity at this point. 
Weight Gain? So far I am 8 pounds up. I gained most of that pretty quickly and pairing that with showing early...I admit, I had a bit of a freak out that I was going to be HUGE by the end of this pregnancy...but my weight gain has seemed to slow down the past few weeks. I fully plan to start my prenatal workouts again once my symptoms start to die down, so I'm hoping that this time around I can gain/keep a little bit of tone in my muscles. 
Stretch Marks?  Not yet. But I'm not holding my breath. I didn't get any with Hannah...UNTIL I started losing my baby weight. WHAT?! Seriously what a cheap trick. Made it through my whole pregnancy without a mark and got them around my belly button when my skin started moving back into place. But they are pretty light and barely noticeable so if I do get them with this pregnancy, I am *hoping* I won't freak out. 
Gender? We found out at our NT scan on August 5th that we are having a little BOY! 

I have to say....I was honestly SHOCKED. I was positive that we were having a girl....in fact, I kind of thought we were destined for a family of all girls! I have no idea why I thought that...but I guess I just never imagined myself as a boy mom...so this will definitely be a learning process for me. ;) All of my early pregnancy symptoms matched the old wives tales for being pregnant with a girl...and my pregnancy was pretty similar to when I was pregnant with Hannah, which is what led me to believe this was a girl. After my shock wore off, I can honestly say that I am so excited! I am so excited to see Hannah with little Graham and I know that Noah is excited to have a little man to play legos with. ;) 
Movement? I swear I felt him move for the very first time on the morning of August 1st. We were getting in the car to leave for the Cavanah family reunion and I had just put my seat belt on when I felt three tiny, tiny butterfly flutters in my low pelvic area....which is exactly where I would expect to feel him based on the placement of the placenta (sorry for the "P" word for non-mommy's ;). I know that I was feeling the little guy say "hi"....the ultrasound tech seemed to think otherwise...but it was the exact feelings I had when I first started feeling Hannah. Unfortunately I have not felt anything since. 
Sleep? Much better now....weeks 4-9 were pretty rough in the sleep department. I just couldn't get comfortable and had trouble staying asleep. I had a really great patch of sleep between weeks 9-13. These last few weeks have been tough again because I have been getting so hot at night...despite having a fan directly pointed on me all night long. 
Food Cravings/Aversions?  Cravings: I actually didn't/haven't had a lot of cravings. It's mostly been about eating what doesn't make me sick. At this early point in the pregnancy all the baby really needs is carbohydrates, so I've been eating a lot of pasta. Lately though I've noticed that I've really been craving things with a lot of sodium.....i.e. chicken noodle soup....except without the noodles and the chicken...so basically just the broth.....also pickles and american cheese. Yum, yum, yum! Aversions: Meat....specifically chicken. We haven't had chicken in our house for over a month. I've had to get really creative with dinners to make up for the lack of chicken. I can't say Noah is complaining though...I've been making pot roasts, turkey dinners and tonight we are having jambalaya! 
What I Miss? Nothing! I honestly LOVE being pregnant, even despite all the symptoms. 
Symptoms? Exhaustion, extreme morning sickness, back pain, ROLPS (round ligament pain's), moodiness, and over the top emotional. I've been needing to take naps while Hannah naps, which makes it really hard to get anything around the house or homework done...but it's honestly not in my control. I would fall asleep sitting straight up. There have been several times when I've gone upstairs to get something and Noah will come up 10 minutes later to see me sleeping on the floor. It's actually crazy. 
Morning sickness has been awful. I was put on a prescription and almost had to make a few trips to the emergency room because of it. I won't get into details...but just know...its been the worst. 
Back pain has been pretty bad, but nothing that a heating pad at the end of the day doesn't help. I attribute that to holding and chasing after a clingy toddler all day. 
I've started having ligament pains which aren't awful yet.
I've also been super emotional, crying over anything and everything. Luckily, I have a good friend who is currently pregnant and dealing with crazy emotions, so it's nice to be able to share my stories with her and laugh about the things that make us cry! 
Best Moment of the Week?  So far I'd say my favorite moments have been seeing our little guy on the ultrasound screen, finding out he was a HE!, announcing our pregnancy to family and friends (and the FB world), and starting to shop for our little guy. There actually ARE cute boy clothes. ;) 
Worst Moment of the Week? I'd have to say that dealing with morning sickness while having a toddler is pretty rough. I have intense guilty feelings because I've mostly been feeding Hannah bland store-bought (ick!) puree's because I have been too sick to actually make her something yummy. We've been late to Mommy and Me classes because I've been so sick and flat out have had to cancel play dates. Not too mention the times when I just want to lay on the couch and cry and I have a little lady tugging on my arm wanting me to play with her. It's been tough, but I am crossing my fingers that we are FINALLY coming to an end with the morning sickness. 
What Noah is saying... "Let's start painting the baby room?" "I bought a video monitor." "When is your sickness supposed to stop?" and "Why are you crying?" 
Other Thoughts? There is something else on my mind, but I'm not quite ready to share it. It's a tough topic and I haven't really decided if I want to talk about it on the blog yet. 

I'd also have to say that in general, I'm feeling less worried about how the pregnancy is going. When I was pregnant with Hannah everything was new and I freaked out about EVERYTHING and was very strict about the things that I did and ate...(anyone remember when I told the whole doctors office that I was pretty sure I had listeria because I ate a Subway sandwich?!) So far with Graham, I am much more relaxed. You won't find me running marathons (ha!) or sipping a glass of wine....but I have to admit that I've had a hot dog once or twice, and indulged in some blue cheese and Ceasar dressing. 
However, that being said...I was surprised to find that once the initial excitement of being pregnant died down, I was incredibly nervous for delivery and recovery. I think with Hannah I would describe my emotions over the big day as "anxious". I was pretty clueless about what happened in the big delivery room...but my thought process was "if millions of women can do it (and some without pain meds), I can too." 
But.....this time around....I know what goes on in that room, and I know what goes on after the delivery. I only had a baby 14 months ago, so all of that.....stuff.....is still pretty fresh in my memory. So yeah, while I am much more relaxed about the pregnancy this time around....I am definitely more nervous for the big D-day. 

Baby boy has a name!

Pretty much since the day we found out we were pregnant, Noah and I started discussing boy names. We've actually had our next girl name picked out since shortly after Hannah was born....so we knew exactly what it would be if this baby was a girl. However, we couldn't find a boy name that we both agreed on. We came across a few that one of us would kind of like....but nothing that both of us loved. Finally on the morning before our NT scan appointment (when we found out baby #2 was a boy) I woke up and immediately texted Noah...."I have it! If it's a boy how about ______ ______ Cavanah?!" He texted back right away with a "yup! That's it!" 

After we found out that this baby was a boy we talked over the name again (just to make sure it fit his sweet little ultrasound profile) and we still both loved it! So.....this little guy has his name! 

Graham Ryan Cavanah 

I love it! I feel like its a perfect name for a child, as well as an adult. I also can't wait to hear Hannah's sweet voice say his name. Noah and I keep laughing thinking about it...."Gwam!" 

Eek! So excited to start the monograming! ;) 

Surprise.....!!!

We are pregnant!!! We are so excited that two tiny feet will be joining our family in early February (or late January ;).

We found out we were expecting the day after Hannah's first birthday, May 28th....which was actually her original due date. I just woke up that morning feeling like I needed to take a pregnancy test. I stopped by the store on our way home from Hannah's 12 month check up. I actually almost didn't even take the test when we got home because I was afraid I was just setting myself up for disappointment. I took it anyways and I was so surprised/excited/happy/shocked to see those two pink lines!

Hananh and I quickly put together a little surprise for Dada to open when he got home. I'm not the best at secrets, so it was incredibly hard not to spill the beans throughout the day before he got home. 

He was so excited and might have asked how I already knew Hannah was going to be a big SISTER and not a brother..... ;) 

To make things even more exciting...on Monday, August 5th we found out that Baby #2 is a BOY!!!

We went in for our NT scan and actually asked the ultrasound tech if she might be able to take a guess at the gender. She said no and that it was way too early too distinguish the parts. However, 10 minutes later she came across an image and laughed and said "I know I said it was too early, but you without a doubt have a little boy on your hands!" She brought in the doctor who also confirmed "definitely all boy". 

I have to say I was SHOCKED. I had been positive that it was a girl throughout the whole pregnancy. I was positive that Hannah was a girl....so I was pretty confident in my "Mama's intuition." I have to admit....it took some time to get use to the idea that more bows, ruffles and dresses weren't in my immediate future. ;) 

However, I am so excited that we are having a little man and I can't wait to squeeze his baby cheeks and kiss his sweet little baby toes. I'm already imagining a chubby little boy version of Hannah. I can hardly stand it! 

So that's our story! I probably won't be doing weekly pregnancy updates, like I did when I was pregnant with Hannah. (I mean, in all honesty, I haven't even posted her 12 month letter yet)...but I will be keeping everyone updated on the pregnancy with check in's every now and then. 

Oh.....we also have officially picked out a name.....but you'll have to come back tomorrow for that. :)